Change
by amessoffand0ms
Summary: Nikki and Jack navigate their blossoming new relationship whilst working along with the rest of the Lyell team to solve the murder of Alison Sutcliffe in Chester.
1. Chapter 1

Nikki awoke with a pounding headache and a slightly fuzzy memory from the previous night.

She went to stretch, and realised that someone was next to her. She frowned, sitting up.

Nikki smiled as she remembered the events of the previous night.

The Lyell team had been on a night out, and Jack and Nikki had finally admitted their feelings to each other. One thing had led to another, and they'd ended up in bed together.

Jack stirred beside her, and smiled when he opened his eyes. "Good morning."

"Hi." She breathed, leaning down to kiss him. "How's the head?"

"Awful." He groaned.

"That settles it." Nikki smiled, and made her way to the bathroom to get some painkillers.

She gave one to Jack, then took one for herself.

"Nikki..." Jack started.

"Mmm?" She asked, laying back down to talk to him.

He cleared his throat, feeling a little nervous. He ran his arm up and down her bare back, working out what to say.

She waited for him, a gentle smile on her face.

"Was last night just a shag? Or was it something more?" He asked, gazing down at her.

In answer, Nikki kissed him. And when they broke apart, she smiled. "Of course it wasn't just a shag, Jack. I've loved you for a long time and last night was just the start of what I hope to be a wonderful and happy relationship."

"Really?" He asked, looking hopeful.

"Of course, you silly sausage." Nikki chuckled.

It was a Sunday, so neither of them were in work.

After making love for a second time, the couple showered together and Nikki got dressed. Jack did the same, not exactly thrilled at the fact that he was having to redress in yesterday's clothes.

"I'm going to nip home." He said, getting his coat on. "See you soon?"

"Yeah, sure." Nikki nodded, but she looked worried.

"Hey, I'll come back to you." He promised, and kissed her on the forehead. It was only when he went out did Nikki realised that they didn't use a condom- both times.

When Jack got back with an overnight bag, she was anxiously munching on some cereal.

He knew instantly that something was up with her. "Nikki, what's wrong?"

She took a sip of her water and looked at him. "I was on the poll but the tablets ran out last week. And we didn't use a condom. What if I'm pregnant Jack? We've barely been together a day, bloody hell…"

"Hey, calm down! If you are pregnant then we'll deal with that, Nik. We'll be fine. Um, not to offend you or anything but aren't you too old to, y'know..?"

"Have periods? Jack I'm 44, not menopausal just yet. I hope that I'm reacting over nothing." She said.

He kissed her cheek. "Exactly. And I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled.

A while later, when they were cuddled up together on the sofa watching TV, Clarissa caller Jack.

"Hey loverboy! You at Nikki's?" She asked rather loudly, making him wince.

"Yeah." Jack smiled. "It's serious, we're together. I gather you'll tell Thomas and Max?"

"Of course." His best friend chuckled. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye." Replied Jack, and hung up.

"Clarissa knows, and she says to send her love." He said, sitting next to his girlfriend.

"She never misses a trick." Nikki laughed, cuddling into him.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack and Nikki were getting ready for work the next morning when Thomas called Nikki.

"Thomas." She said in lieu of a hello. "Have we got a shout?"

"Of sorts. D'you know where Chester is?"

"Yeah. Why?" Asked Nikki, putting him on loudspeaker because she was getting her boots on.

"Because we're going up there. You, me, Jack, Clarissa and Max is coming along for the ride. There's been a murder at the cathedral, and we're working with Cheshire Constabulary to solve it. The specialist teams are up to their eyes in cases so that's why we've been brought in. We're staying at The Grosvenor Hotel, see you there. Pack for a week or so. I don't know how long we'll be up there."

"Wow, okay." Nikki replied. "See you there."

After arranging a few more things, Nikki said goodbye to Thomas and hung up.

"Right, I'll meet you at St Pancras Station in an hour. I'll nip home and pack" Jack said. "I already have a route planned out for us."

"Okay." Nikki replied, making her way over to him and kissing him. "I love you."

"I love you too." Jack said, kissing her.

An hour later, Nikki made her way up to Jack and Clarissa.

"Hello, Thomas and Max are buying us all some snacks for the journey." Clarissa greeted her friend and colleague.

"Morning." Replied Nikki. "I hope that you asked them to get me some magic stars?"

"Of course." Jack smiled, handing his partner a takeaway latte and giving her a kiss.

Clarissa chuckled. "I'm so glad that you two are together now. Finally, no more unresolved sexual tension at work!"

Max and Thomas returned with the drinks, and they got on the train.

The journey was long, but Jack kept everyone's spirits up. Snacks and stories were shared and the Lyell team discussed the case they were going to be working on.

"The victim is 34 year old Alison Sutcliffe. Single mum, with a one year old daughter called Eva. She was found dead in Chester Cathedral." Said Jack. "There was a service going on there last night when Lucy's mum, nipped to the loo and heard a scream when she came back out. After that, a hooded figure ran past her, and Alison was found with a single stab wound to the chest."

"How awful." Nikki said. "Any family, apart from the mother?"

"An uncle, Scott. Lucy's brother. Eva was the result of a one night stand, so she's never known her father." Clarissa chipped in. "We won't know any more until we get to Chester, unfortunately."

A couple of hours later, they arrived in Chester. They dropped their luggage off at the hotel, and then made their way straight to the crime scene.

On the way, they gazed up at the magnificent buildings and smiled at the street performers.

"This is pretty." Nikki said. "The hotel looks pretty swanky too, I can't wait to check out the restaurants."

Jack chuckled at his partner. "Come on, work."

Outside the cathedral, the press were waiting outside, snapping away. Nikki showed her ID card to a PC and they went in.

A lady was waiting for them. "Hi, are you from the Lyell?"

Nikki nodded, and Thomas stepped forward. "My name is Professor Thomas Chamberlain, I'm head of the Lyell. These are my colleagues." He introduced them all in turn.

"Ah, good to meet you all. I'm Detective Chief Inspector Amy Dawlish."

They went to the place where Lucy was, and took photos.

Nikki turned out Alison's pockets-there was nothing much, save for keys and a wallet.

"Where's her mum?" Asked Clarissa.

"She's at home, totally shaken up." Answered Amy.

"Any fibres from the killer's hoodie on her clothes?" Asked Thomas.

"No, I'll get the body sent to the police station so you can examine it properly. Jack, would you like to come with me to talk to Lucy?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded.

Amy knocked on Lucy's front door.

An elderly woman answered, and it was obvious that she'd been crying.

"Hi, Mrs Sutcliffe? DCI Amy Dawlish." Said Amy. "We're here to talk to you in connection to your daughter's murder."

"I'm Jack Hodgson, forensic scientist." Jack said.

"Okay, come in." Replied Lucy.

They went in, and sat down in the living room.

Lucy was questioned, and because Eva was staying with her, a sample of her DNA was taken in case her father was connected to the murder.

After that, Amy and Jack made their way to the police station. Little did they know, the killer was watching every move they made.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack and Amy made their way to the morgue, where Nikki and Thomas were examining Alison.

"Hello." Nikki greeted them. "We've found some bruising on her upper right arm, indicating that the killer was right handed, and approx 6 foot tall.

"Okay." Jack nodded. "We collected a sample of Eva's DNA, and we found out that Lucy has another child- Phillip Sutcliffe, older brother of Alison, who disappeared 15 years ago at the age of 21. He's never been seen since."

"Okay. There's going to be no DNA from Phillip anywhere, but we can build up a profile from Alison's DNA and run it, see if there's match."Said Thomas. "Alison also has a knee-shaped bruise to her upper left thigh. This suggests that this murder was personal-not simply a hit and run."

"There's no evidence of sexual assault though. This was personal. Not sexual, not just a killer on the loose."

After that, DNA and clothing samples were run and paperwork completed. It was getting late, so at six they called it a night.

"I'm off." Announced Clarissa. "Max has been exploring, he's found a nice place for us to have tea." She said, and went off.

"Amy was talking about an art exhibition at the museum earlier, I think that I'm going to go and check it out. See you tomorrow." Said Thomas.

"That just leaves us." Said Jack, turning towards his partner.

"I think that we should go and have tea at the hotel, and then go and check out the spa." Replied Nikki.

"Sounds good." Jack replied, holding her close. "I love you."

"I love you too." Nikki responded, a smile on her face.

They went to tea, each choosing a roast dinner.

Despite the terrible case they were working on, they were happy together. Long ago, they'd learnt the merits of professional detachment when it came to their jobs.

They were sat in a snug little cubby hole, at a small table with a comfortable leather sofa.

When they were finished, both too full for pudding, Nikki snuggled into Jack.

"I love you." He informed her. The words still felt fresh and new-he'd never tire of saying them.

"I love you too." She smiled, and kissed him. "Spa?"

He nodded. "As long as they don't touch where they're not supposed to. Sometimes massages can be an uncomfortable experience."

"Especially in other countries." Nikki agreed. "However, I've read reviews about this one and they're all positive."

"Good." Jack nodded, holding her close. "We'd better get an early night tonight, there's no knowing where this case will take us."

"Exactly." Nikki nodded.

They went for their massage, after which they felt very relaxed.

After that, they both went back to their room and began winding down. Nikki had a shower, whilst Jack watched TV and got ready for bed.

Nikki came out of the shower dressed in her comfiest pair of PJs.

"You look happy." Jack smiled at his other half.

"You do too." She smiled, clambering into bed beside him.

He kissed her and they watched Heartbeat before going to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning...

"Hello!" Clarissa greeted Nikki the next morning in the breakfast room. "I've got us a table-I left Max's coat there."

"Good thinking." Smiled Nikki, making her way over to the only free table in the place.

"Thomas is already up and out." Said Clarissa, wheeling over to her friend, armed with a plateful of bacon and eggs.

"Sightseeing? This place certainly is beautiful."

"You got it. Max went with him-where's Jack?"

"Preening. I did ask if I could join him in the shower-he said no. He wanted to wash his hair." Grumbled Nikki.

"Spoilsport." Clarissa chuckled.

Nikki got some breakfast-Scrambled eggs, roast tomatoes, and bacon, her favourite, and went back to the table.

By that time, Jack had joined them and was chatting to Clarissa.

"Morning." Nikki greeted her partner, dipping her head to kiss his cheek.

"Hello." He replied, pecking her on the lips and pinching a piece of bacon when she wasn't looking.

Clarissa, who was eating her breakfast, snorted at this.

"You're a cheeky bugger. It's a good thing that I love you." Nikki smiled.

Jack went to get some breakfast. The group ate, and then made their way to the police station.

"Hello." Thomas greeted them. "Amy is going to interview Scott, he lives in Nantwich- a town not too far from here."

"I'll go with her, get a DNA sample." Nikki decided.

"Results are back, nothing on her clothes apart from brush fibres from the people who sat next to her in church. And the DNA is from Lucy and the little one." Jack said. "Oh... We have something on her top."

"An impression of a little bit of metal." Said Clarissa. "Probably from the killer's jacket."

"Yeah, Lucy said he was wearing a dark hoodie so that adds up." Thomas nodded.

"I'll pull local suppliers, the impression suggests that the jacket was quite old." Said Clarissa.

Amy and Nikki went down to Nantwich, and made their way through a charming little streets to Scott's house.

"Hi." Amy greeted him when he opened the door. "DCI Amy Dawlish, this is Doctor Nikki Alexander."

"Hello, you're investigating my niece's death?" He asked.

Nikki nodded.

"Alright, come in."

"When was the last time you saw Alison?" Amy began when they sat down in the lounge.

"I last saw her a couple of weeks ago, Eva's first birthday. She seemed okay, before you ask. Happy, bubbly, full of life. I can't believe she's gone..."

They paused for a couple of minutes.

"I don't think that she had any enemies;" Scott continued. "She was the golden child, after Phillip ran away... Well, he wasn't the best, so to speak. The police at the time didn't find any trace of him."

"Right," Amy wrote something down on her phone. "We'll look into that."

"Lucy loved-still loves Alison, who was a great support to her after Paul, Lucy's husband died. He had cancer, he passed away at a hospice. St Luke's."

"Peaceful?" Asked Amy.

"Yes. We thought that with his father dying of a terrible disease, Phillip would resurface again. However, there was no trace of him."

"Ah. I don't suppose anyone has anything with his DNA on it?" Nikki asked.

Scott shook his head. "Nah, Lucy was heartbroken but eventually got rid of all of his things. He was presumed dead, suicide."

"Is there a memorial for Phillip anywhere?" Amy enquired.

"Yes, there's a church in Willaston. He has a small stone there, all we could afford."

"I'm going to take a sample of your DNA if that's alright?" Nikki said to Scott. "It's purely for the investigation, it will be destroyed afterwards."

He nodded. "Yeah, that's absolutely fine."

After that was done, and Amy talked more to Scott, she and Nikki went to Willaston.

They found the church that Scott was talking about, and navigated their way to the stone. It read: "Phillip Paul Sutcliffe-Beloved brother and son who disappeared from us. We love you-Mum, Dad, Ali, and Eva. Xxx."

"Look!" Nikki exclaimed. "Someone's been here-very recently."

Next to the stone was some fake daffodils.


End file.
